


Forever Romance

by bluemadridista



Category: EXO (Band), K-pop
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Boys Kissing, First Kiss, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Pre-debut, just a little
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-16
Updated: 2018-04-16
Packaged: 2019-04-23 14:27:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14334450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluemadridista/pseuds/bluemadridista
Summary: Chanyeol doesn't quite know what to do with his feelings when Baekhyun first comes to SM.





	Forever Romance

**Author's Note:**

> This was a request on my tumblr (fy-kpopfanfiction). If you'd like to make a request, you can message me there or leave a comment here! 
> 
> This is my first Baekyeol fic! Hope everyone enjoys it! I took a lot of liberties with details. There are probably a lot of incorrect things when it comes to their pre-debut lives. I know... I just did what worked for the fic!

From the day that he joined SM as a trainee, Chanyeol had been a ray of light around the dorm. The life of a trainee could be difficult. Long days, hard work, only the hope of finally debuting to keep them going. Yet somehow Chanyeol always kept a smile on his face and spread joy around to the other trainees. He comforted the younger trainees like Jongin who had trained a year longer than him and the older ones like Junmyeon who had been there long before Chanyeol. Chanyeol couldn’t be sure how long.

After three years, their group had started to come together. Chanyeol chatted with Junmyeon and a couple of other hyungs often about their future. They seemed to think they’d debut as a large group. There were eleven of them, including four Chinese trainees that looked to be the next SM boy group.

They couldn’t be sure, of course, not yet, but they all thought they’d end up together.

And then Baekhyun joined the company.

The day he met Baekhyun, Chanyeol felt an uneasiness settle in his stomach. Something like nausea, but he didn’t feel that he’d actually lose his lunch. He didn’t understand the feeling or why it returned each time Baekhyun was near him.

Like all the things Chanyeol was certain that he couldn’t change, he ignored it. He avoided Baekhyun as much as possible for the first few weeks that followed his joining the company. Then, he began to retreat into himself, ignoring everyone.

A couple of months passed before the other exhausted trainees finally noticed that something was amiss. Their sunshine, mood maker, happy virus had disappeared.

Junmyeon was nominated to approach Chanyeol about the problem. They had just returned to the dorm after a hard day’s work in the dance studio.

The only thing that Chanyeol wanted was to shower and collapse in his bed. He shared a room with Jongin, Yixing, and Kyungsoo – all of whom were quiet. He could easily get some rest.

He groaned when Junmyeon approached him. Junmyeon wasn’t the oldest of the trainees, not even the second oldest, but they all knew he’d lead them. He was the definition of a leader.

“Hey, Channie.” Junmyeon’s hand fell onto his shoulder. He gave it a gentle squeeze and smiled up at the tall boy.

“Hyung…” Chanyeol had the same feeling in the pit of his stomach that he got when he was grade school and had been caught playing a video game instead of studying. “What did I do?”

Junmyeon let out a laugh. He was a sweet hyung with a handsome face and an easy laugh. Chanyeol liked him, but that didn’t stop him feeling intimidated by the older man. “You didn’t do anything.” Junmyeon paused a moment. “Wait, did you?” He quirked an eyebrow at the younger man who was given to pranking and goofing around. Well, he had been before he inexplicably changed a few months ago. The thought brought Junmyeon back to the matter at hand. “I just wanted to talk to you, Chanyeol.”

“About what?” Chanyeol stared down at the floor, picking at his thumbnail and curling his toes into their soft carpet. He thought he was going to be scolded for something he didn’t recall doing.

“Come to my room.” Junmyeon slid his hand from Chanyeol’s shoulder to the middle of his back as he gently guided him down the hall to the room he shared with Minseok, Kris, and Luhan.

When Junmyeon closed the bedroom door behind them, Chanyeol felt his stomach twist. He didn’t come in the hyung’s room often, if ever, and he had definitely never been alone with one of them behind a closed door.

“Have a seat,” Junmyeon offered, but it sounded more like a command.

Chanyeol squatted and sat against the wall beside the closet door.

Junmyeon let out another of his light, easy laughs. “I mean on the bed, but okay…” He took a seat on his bed, the bunk beneath Kris’.

Chanyeol picked at a piece of fuzz on the carpet beside his hip. “I’m fine here.”

Junmyeon ran his hand through his hair. “So, um… the guys and I have noticed that… you’ve been acting a little strange lately.”

Chanyeol stretched his legs out in front him only to pull them back up to his chest a moment later. He dropped the piece of fuzz he’d been playing with and wrapped both arms around knees. “What do you mean?” He refused to meet Junmyeon’s gaze.

“You’ve been really quiet and you don’t hang out with any of us anymore. You avoid everyone. You work, you shower, you go to bed. You eat in your room. When we go out, you sit by yourself.”

Chanyeol buried his face in his legs. “There are twelve of us,” he mumbled. “We can’t all sit together.”

“I can’t understand you, Chan. Come on. Talk to me. We’re concerned about you.”

He lifted his head a little, turned it to the side, and rested it back on his legs. When he spoke again, his speech was clear. “I’m fine. You don’t have to worry.”

Junmyeon hoisted himself up from the bed and crossed the room to sit beside Chanyeol. His back against the closet door, he nudged Chanyeol’s knee with his own. “You can talk to me if something is bothering you, you know? We used to talk all the time.”

 _Not like this_ , Chanyeol thought. Junmyeon sounded like his mother when he came home with his first black eye. “You can talk to me about those mean old bullies, Chanyeol-ah.” Chanyeol rolled his eyes at the thought, not expecting Junmyeon to notice.

“Okay, okay. Sorry. I’m being annoying.” Junmyeon did notice the eye roll. Chanyeol was still a teenager. Nineteen, but still a teen. He knew it was a rough time in life when your emotions and hormones were driving you mad. He stood up, groaning. All-day practice was taking a toll on him.  “I won’t bring it up again. I’ll trust that you’re fine. You know what you’re doing.”

Junmyeon’s hand was on the doorknob when Chanyeol grabbed his upper arm. “Hyung, wait.”

Junmyeon released his grip on the knob and turned to look at Chanyeol. Chanyeol’s hand fell away from his arm and he returned to awkward teenager mode. Junmyeon averted his eyes and remained silent, giving Chanyeol an opportunity to speak.

“Hyung, you swear that you won’t be a jerk if I tell you something?”

“Well, I’m glad that you think so highly of me, Chanyeol.” He scoffed. “Of course not. What kind of hyung do you think I am?” _I’m not Kris_ , he thought, rolling his eyes at the thought of stupid, gorgeous, brash Chinese trainee. He truly hated the sight of him.

“Hyung, it’s not about you. It’s just…” Chanyeol shook his head. “Forget it.”

“No, Channie, I’m sorry. Go ahead. I won’t be a jerk, I promise. I just want to be sure that you’re okay. Please, if something is wrong, tell me. I’ll do absolutely everything I can to help you, no matter what.”

Chanyeol hung his head. “Hyung, I think… I think I’m going crazy.”

“Crazy?” Junmyeon silently prayed that Chanyeol wasn’t seeing ghosts. He had enough of that with the young Chinese trainee. He saw ghosts everywhere – to the point that he wouldn’t even shower alone.

“Yes. I’m having all these disgusting thoughts and feelings.”

Junmyeon’s brow furrowed. He didn’t have a clue what Chanyeol could mean by that. “What do you mean?”

When Chanyeol spoke again, it was after a sniffle and his voice cracked. “Things that… things that my parents would hate. Things that are wrong.”

“Chanyeol, what things? I don’t understand.” Junmyeon was seriously beginning to wonder if all the training had gotten to Chanyeol and he had snapped. Was he contemplating killing someone??

“It’s Baekhyun…”

“Baekhyun?” He wanted to kill Baekhyun? Sure, the kid was annoying, never stopped talking. Still, Junmyeon hadn’t even recalled Chanyeol spending more than five minutes with him outside a professional capacity. What could he have against him?

“I’ve been feeling weird since he got here. Every time he’s in the room, I feel like I’m going to throw up or something like it. The other day he bumped into me in the practice room and I almost punched him.”

“Chanyeol, I don’t think I understand. Why do you hate him so much? You haven’t said more than ten words to him since he arrived.”

“I don’t hate him!” Chanyeol sniffed again and ran a hand through his hair. It was still sweaty from practice. He really needed a shower. By the time he got to the shower, it was going to be cold and he’d be miserable. Why did Junmyeon have to do this now?

“You wanted to hit him…”

“Because he touched me and I felt like I was about to burst into flame!”

Suddenly, it hit Junmyeon. Everything clicked into the place and he understood all too well what Chanyeol was going through. He experienced the same thing in Junior High when he realized he was gay. Captain of their football team. Gorgeous. Huge. Very straight. Junmyeon took a punch to the face for letting his gaze linger in the locker room a moment too long.

“Chanyeol…” When Junmyeon wrapped his hand around Chanyeol’s bicep, the younger boy jumped a little. Junmyeon removed his hand but took a step closer to him. “I know what you’ve probably been raised to believe,” he whispered to him. “I know what the majority claims… But there’s nothing wrong with the way you’re feeling.”

“But hyung…”

“I know. I know, trust me. I know, Chanyeol. But I mean it, there’s nothing wrong with you.”

Tears streamed down Chanyeol’s face and Junmyeon pulled him in for a tight hug. Chanyeol sniffled on his shoulder while he rubbed his back. “You don’t have to be afraid of your feelings. You don’t have to be ashamed. They’re okay. You’re okay.”

“I’ve never felt like this before, hyung. I never liked anybody before, really.”

Junmyeon has another flash of the gorgeous jerk of a football captain. He’d never had those feelings before either. Sometimes it takes a certain one to make you realize. Junmyeon had a feeling that things would work out much better for Chanyeol than they did for him.

“I understand, Chanyeol. It is a little scary the first time you realize you have feelings for someone, but it’s okay. You don’t have to be afraid because it’s Baekhyun and not a girl. You understand?”

Chanyeol nodded and pulled away, wiping his nose on the sleeve of his hoodie. “Everyone says it’s wrong though, hyung. Guys are supposed to like girls.”

“Who says?! Who made that rule? Who says that has to be the way it is? Everyone should be able to find whoever they want to love, or not if they don’t. It’s up to you, Chanyeol, and what you feel.”

“But Baekhyun…”

“What about him?”

“He won’t think so. What if he hits me?”

Junmyeon could still feel the crushing blow from the football captain. He reached up to rub his cheek, feeling the phantom pain. “He won’t.” He lowered his hand. “I’m gay, Chanyeol. I learned that the hard way, or I should say that I suffered when I learned that, but it made me very observant. I’ve learned to pay attention and try to spot every clue that a guy gives about his sexuality, so I don’t make the same mistake again. You’ll learn too, maybe, or maybe you won’t. I hope you don’t have to, that you don’t feel the necessity the way that I did.”

“What about Baekhyun makes you think he likes me that way?”

“He watches you intently during dance practice. I love you, Chanyeol, but you’re a terrible dancer. He’s checking out your ass and the way your muscles flex.”

Chanyeol blushed, his cheeks turning dark pink. “Hyung…”

“I’m serious!”

Chanyeol giggled and proceeded to try look at his butt in the mirror on Junmyeon’s closet door. “I guess it is kind of nice, huh?”

Junmyeon swatted him playfully. “Knock that off before you fall trying to check out your own ass.”

Chanyeol stopped contorting himself to stare at his backside. “It’s so weird when you swear, hyung. It’s like when my grandpa swears.”

Junmyeon sighed. “Wow. Thanks, kid. You do realize that I’m only a year older than you, right?”

“But you act like my grandfather.”

Junmyeon shoved him. “I do not!” But it was true. He felt older every day. He was just twenty-one but being in caregiver position for the other eleven boys – even the oldest ones – made him feel so much older.

“You do. I’m not the only one that feels it. Even Minseok says you act like a grandfather and he’s the oldest…”

“See if I ever offer you advice again…”

Chanyeol laughed loudly. “Ah, you will. You have to. It’s your grandfatherly duty.” He laughed again when Junmyeon’s face twisted. “Thanks though, hyung. Really. I appreciate your advice. It helped.”

 

“Where’s Junmyeon hyung and Chanyeol?”

Jongin looked up from the book he was reading when Baekhyun spoke to him. He shrugged his shoulders. When he returned to the dorm after a long day, he didn’t necessarily care where the others went or what they did. He just wanted a shower and to relax or sleep.

On the bunk below him, Kyungsoo offered a real answer. “They’re having a talk, I think. Chanyeol hyung has been acting strangely for a while. I think Junmyeon hyung went to confront him about it.”

Baekhyun frowned. Several of the others had told him about the tall boy acting strangely since he arrived. He assumed it was something to do with him. Maybe Chanyeol didn’t like him. Maybe he preferred his group to stay just the eleven of them.

He sighed and walked out of the room after offering Kyungsoo thanks. As soon as he emerged from the room, he collided with another person. That wasn’t an uncommon occurrence in the small dorm filled with twelve boys. He kept his head down, apologized, and started to walk away.

“Ah, it’s okay…”

The deep voice made him halt. He turned back, just a few steps ahead of the other boy. “Chanyeol…” He bowed to him. “I’m sorry.”

Chanyeol shook his head. “It’s okay… hyung.” Baekhyun was only a few months older than him, so he didn’t necessarily need to call him hyung, but it couldn’t hurt.

Baekhyun’s fingers trembled. Chanyeol was so tall. He was lanky but intimidating nonetheless. “Chanyeol, um, can I talk to you?”

The uneasy, sick feeling returned to the pit of Chanyeol’s stomach in full force. He rubbed his stomach as if that would ease the sickness in it. “This is my room. You can…”

“I’d rather talk alone, if that’s alright. We can go outside onto the balcony.”

No one ever went onto the balcony. It was rickety and faced the dirty alleyway and the other dorm building beside them. There was nothing but brick wall to look at.

Still, Chanyeol found himself nodding and following Baekhyun outside. The cool spring air hitting his overheated skin felt good but reminded him how desperately he needed to shower. Baekhyun didn’t appear to have had one either though – a fact he was glad to note. At least he wouldn’t be the only sweaty, smelly one. Sweaty and smelly for his first conversation with the guy he had an instant crush on, great. He groaned internally as he situated himself downwind from Baekhyun on the little balcony.

“Chanyeol, I wanted to ask you something…”

“Okay…” Chanyeol nearly jumped out of his skin as Baekhyun inched closer to him. His hip dug intot he barrier as he pressed himself as close to the edge as possible. If Baekhyun came any closer, he might have to consider whether he would die after jumping from this height.

Baekhyun stopped moving when he noticed Chanyeol’s obvious discomfort. “Why… Why do you hate me so much? We’ve barely spoken since I arrived, but everyone marks my arrival as the moment that you changed drastically. You apparently used to be very bright and talkative. Now, you never talk and you never come near me and I’m not sure what I did to make you so upset. I don’t recall doing anything at all. Is it because I’m coming in so late, so much longer than everyone else. Encroaching on your little family dynamic. I’m sorry. I didn’t ask to be put with you all. I… I can ask to be put somewhere else, to train with someone else.”

“No.” Chanyeol stared down at some trash blowing around the small alley below them. He’d definitely die if he jumped from this height. Baekhyun better keep his distance. He stared down, silent for a few moments. Then, it seemed that he couldn’t shut up. “I… I don’t hate you. And I don’t want you to train somewhere else. I’m not a mean person. I don’t mean to avoid you or anyone else. I just don’t know… I just can’t… I… Hyung says I’m okay but… I just…”

Baekhyun’s face twisted in confusion. He had no idea what Chanyeol was talking about, for the most part. It was good to hear that he didn’t want him to go away, but… What was he on about? “Chanyeol,” he finally interjected, stopping the string of incoherent babbling. Chanyeol flinched. “Can you come away from the edge like that? I’m afraid you’re going to fall over the edge.” Baekhyun backed away, toward the door.

Chanyeol glanced back and only moved inward when Baekhyun was almost flush against the door. Still, he was mere centimeters from the edge, but it was a start. He stared at his feet and apologized to Baekhyun.

“So, you don’t hate me, that’s good. So, it was just a coincidence that you changed when I got here?”

“No.”

Baekhyun let out an aggravated little huff of breath. “No?”

“Not exactly.” Chanyeol shifted his weight nervously. “I don’t think we should talk about this, hyung.”

“If it’s all the same to you, I’d really like to. If we’re going to be a group eventually, we’re going to be spending a lot of time together. I’d rather not have this… whatever it is between us. I’d rather us get along.”

“Fine, we can get along.”

“Chanyeol…”

Chanyeol tried not to gape when Baekhyun ran a frustrated hand through his shaggy hair, tugging lightly on it before his hand dropped to his side. He gulped and looked away.

“Look, just tell me what it is about me that you don’t like and I’ll be sure to not, I don’t know, be that way or do that thing when I’m around you.”

“I don’t not like you.”

“Fine. What is it that makes you uncomfortable or whatever has made your personality do a one-eighty since I arrived. I’ll try not to be that way.”

“Everything,” Chanyeol blurted.

Baekhyun flinched like Chanyeol had smacked him in the face. “Wow, okay. Everything about me makes you uncomfortable. Damn.” Baekhyun fidgeted and stared at his feet. “Shit, okay. Wow. Well, thanks for your honesty. Damn.”

He ran his fingers through his hair again and Chanyeol wanted to fling himself over the side of the balcony – anything to get away from Baekhyun’s slender fingers and this awkward situation.

“I can’t change everything about myself, so I guess I’ll just… I’ll try to avoid you as much as possible. I’m sorry, um, about this.” Baekhyun grabbed the door knob. Chanyeol grabbed his wrist.

“Wait, Baekhyun, uh, hyung, please… Wait…”

Baekhyun’s hand released the knob. Chanyeol still gripped his tiny wrist. Gently because Baekhyun was so small, seemed so fragile.

When it was clear to him that Baekhyun was not going to speak, Chanyeol said, “I… like you.”

“Okay, that’s fine then.” Baekhyun went for the door handle again but Chanyeol gently pulled him away.

“No. I, um…” He dropped his wrist. He didn’t want to be touching him when he made this confession. If Junmyeon was wrong about this, he would kill him. Well, after he came back to life because he was sure that Baekhyun would shove him over the edge of the balcony. “I really _like_ you, hyung. Like, um… I…” He stared down at his shuffling feet. “I think you’re, um… attractive, I guess.”

“Attractive, you guess?” Baekhyun sputtered.

Chanyeol’s heart lurched and bolted toward the door, grabbing the knob. “Don’t throw me off the balcony!” He wailed, trying to turn the knob but shaking too hard to do anything productive.

Baekhyun grabbed his arm.

“I’ll scream!” Chanyeol wailed, kicking at Baekhyun.

“Knock it off, you idiot.” Baekhyun dropped his arm and slapped him when Chanyeol’s foot collided with his shin. “Stop, stop it!”

Chanyeol stopped kicking and sunk to the floor of the balcony. “Don’t throw me off the edge.”

“I’m not going to throw you off. I couldn’t even throw you, you’re huge. And you’d die. What is wrong with you?”

“I don’t know! I don’t know what is wrong with me! Junmyeon says nothing, but I told him that you would think so! I told him you wouldn’t want to know that I have feelings for you. You’d think I was weird or damaged or sick or something.”

Baekhyun slid down to sit beside him. “I meant what is wrong with you that you’d think I’d throw you to your death. There’s nothing wrong with thinking I’m attractive. I’m really hot, I know that.” He shrugged his shoulders.

“It was actually your modesty that attracted me most,” Chanyeol scoffed.

Baekhyun laughed. “So… you have feelings for me then? Is that it?”

“No. I mean, I don’t know. I don’t even know you. I just know that I feel like puking every time you’re around me.”

“I do that around cooking onions. I’m not sure that’s a special thing.”

Chanyeol laughed. “You know what I mean. I guess… I don’t know, I have a crush on you or something. I think you’re cute and you’re so talented. Shit. I mean, do you even know what you sound like when you sing?”

“Yeah, I have these weird things on the side of my head. They’re called ears. I thought you’d know about them since you have two giant ones.”

Chanyeol covered his ears with his hands, blushing. “That’s mean, hyung…” He pouted.

“I was joking.” Baekhyun pulled his hands down. “Your ears are cute. Like Yoda met Dumbo and had some tall Korean love child.”

Chanyeol made a face. “How is that better than what you said before?”

Baekhyun just laughed at him. “You’re hot as hell when you rap. Is that better?”

“A little.” Chanyeol blushed wildly. He never expected Baekhyun to find him attractive, let alone “hot as hell.”

“You are a terrible dancer…” Baekhyun quickly added a “BUT” when Chanyeol made a face at him. “But… Your ass looks so good in those ugly pants you wear to practice.”

Chanyeol giggled and hid his blushed face. “Geez, hyung. You’re not shy, are you?”

Baekhyun shrugged his shoulders. “Where’s the fun in being shy? You find me attractive, you said it. Why shouldn’t I tell you how I feel?”

“I guess you’re right…”

“Yeah… So, you got anything else you want to tell me?”

“No…”

“Really?”

“No.”

“No you don’t or no, not really?”

“Not really… I… I like your hands. They’re pretty. And I like watching you run them through your hair.”

“What do you mean?” Baekhyun asked, carding his fingers through his hair slowly. “I’m not sure I understand…” He gave his hair a little tug and ran his fingers over his scalp.

“Stop it!” Chanyeol slapped him.

Baekhyun cackled. “Wow. Hand kink, huh? Look at you.”

“No! I… I didn’t say! You just have nice hands! Don’t make it perverted!” Chanyeol slapped him again.

“Do you also have a slapping kink because I can’t say I’m about that kind of rough stuff.” He shook his head. “That’d be a no-go for me in bed.”

Chanyeol nearly collapsed in on himself. He covered his burning face with his hands, pulling his legs to his chest. A moment later, he buried his face in his legs and covered his head with his arms.

Baekhyun just giggled. He much preferred this playful relationship with Chanyeol to the awkward silent treatment.

“Why’d you have to say that?” Chanyeol grumbled.

“I told you that there’s no point in being shy. I just say what I want to say. You like me, right?”

“I don’t think I do anymore. Sorry, bye.”

“That really only works if you can go somewhere which you can’t, because I’m sitting against the door.”

“I could move you. You’re tiny.”

“Try it.”

“Don’t push me.”

Baekhyun shoved him.

Chanyeol stood with a quickness he didn’t think the giraffe possessed and scooped him off his feet. Baekhyun wailed when Chanyeol held him just over the edge of the balcony. “I told you I could move you.”

“Okay, okay. Back over the edge! Chanyeol! Don’t drop me. I’ll die!”

“You weight like three kilograms, Baekhyun. I’m not going to drop you.”

“Point taken. I’m tiny. You’re a huge muscle god. Please pull me in.”

Chanyeol lifted him back over the edge with ease and placed him on his feet. Baekhyun’s legs were jelly and he collapsed against Chanyeol. “Don’t ever…” His breath came in ragged bursts, his heart pounding against his rib cage.

Chanyeol had felt better when he’d had the power, but now that Baekhyun was clinging to him all of that crumbled away. His heart fluttered and a heat rose up his neck and settled in his cheeks. “I’m sorry, hyung…”

“You… should be.”

Chanyeol stared down at him and then reached up to touch his hair, gently, stroking it just a little experimentally. Baekhyun’s reaction was more than he could have asked for. The smaller boy squeezed him tighter and nuzzled toward his hand.

The sick twist returned to Chanyeol’s stomach along with a tight feeling in his lower abdomen. His fingers  threaded through Baekhyun’s shaggy hair. “Hyung…”

“I know… Hair kink. Keep going.”

Chanyeol shoved him away. “Stop making fun of me.”

Baekhyun laughed, but scrambled to the back of the balcony near the door. “It’s okay, Chanyeol. So, something gets you going. Own it.”

“It doesn’t… I mean, you just make it sound dirty. It’s not even like that.”

“So, you don’t see me that way.” Baekhyun subconsciously ran his hand through his hair.

“Stop it with the hair thing! It’s not funny!”

“Huh? Oh, I didn’t… Honestly, I just do it when I’m nervous. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…”

“I do see you that way, okay?”

“Okay…”

“But I just… I don’t know. Do we really have to talk about it?”

“We don’t have to do anything. We don’t have to talk at all. I mean, if it’s easier for you to be rid of me, I’ll see about transferring somewhere else. Maybe Super Junior needs another maknae change.”

“Like they’d take you.” Chanyeol rolled his eyes.

“Um, have your huge ears heard the way I sound when I sing?!”

Chanyeol shoved him gingerly. “I don’t want you to go away. And I don’t want to not talk about things. I just… I…”

“Have never had sex with anyone before so it’s weird for you to talk about it. That’s okay.”

Chanyeol had a minor heart attack, he was sure of it. “I never said that.”

“You didn’t have to, sweetie.”

Chanyeol covered his face. “So, you have?”

“Not a lot. I’m not expert, but I have done things, yes.”

“Things or you’ve had sex with someone?”

“Both.”

“Oh, gahh…” Chanyeol rubbed his face, groaning against his hands.

“It’s not a big deal.”

“It’s a huge deal.”

“So, what? You don’t want to whatever with me because I’ve had sex before?!”

“No, I never said that. I just mean that sex is a big deal. At least it is to me. I don’t want to just have sex with you, if that’s what you think. I don’t do that. I, I mean, I’ve never really been in a relationship of any kind, but I know I wouldn’t want one that was just sex.”

“You want to cuddle after?”

Chanyeol frowned so hard that he was sure he almost broke his face. “No… Forget it.” He shook his head.

“Chanyeol, I’m kidding, okay? I know what you mean. And why do you assume that I just go around having sex with guys? Who’s to say that I wasn’t in a relationship when I had sex?”

“I didn’t know… You just said it wasn’t a big deal and it is.”

“It is, okay. It’s not a big deal that I’ve done it and you haven’t. I had sex once with one guy, did other things a few times, with the same guy. A boyfriend. I’m not full of experience and those experiences were probably not the best. I was sixteen.”

“Sixteen!” Chanyeol’s voice sounded strangled and high-pitched. “You had sex with a guy when you were sixteen?”

“Yes. What are you, king of the prudes? Good grief. Judgy, much?”

“No, I just… I didn’t even know I liked guys until you walked into the company.”

“What? Seriously?”

“Yeah, seriously.”

“Wow. I knew… I don’t know. Twelve, I think. This guy that lived next door to me. I thought he was everything and then some. He was straight, of course.” He rolled his eyes. “They always are.”

“I’m not,” Chanyeol said and, somehow, he felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his chest.

Baekhyun looked over and smiled at him. “Yeah…” He chuckled softly. “You’re really cute, Chanyeol. I’d really like to have whatever with you. Friends, more than friends…”

“Boyfriends?”

“Boyfriends, definitely.”

“ _Things_?”

“Things, yes. I would definitely have things with you.”

Chanyeol stomach flipped. “I’m sorry that I didn’t know what to say until now and you felt awkward.”

Baekhyun shrugged. “It’s hard sometimes, I understand. It’s worth it if we have some big romance. No pressure or anything, but you kind of owe me some huge romance.”

“Like _The Notebook_?”

“Yes.”

“We kind of changed roles here.”

“What do you mean?”

“You were all about the pervert stuff earlier and now you’re demanding forever romance.”

“We can have forever romance and sex.”

Chanyeol’s cheeks blushed. “How can you say that without blushing?”

“I told you…”

“I k now, I know. It’s not worth being shy.”

“It’s not. That’s my motto. Why be shy when you could just be honest about your feelings?”

“That’s kind of an odd motto. Do you have a bumper sticker or something?”

“I can get you one.”

Chanyeol laughed. “I’ll try to always be honest with you, okay?”

“I’ll always be honest with you. Like right now, I honestly want to kiss your face off. Just saying.”

“Honestly, I would rather you didn’t.”

“You don’t want to kiss me?”

“I want to kiss you, but I’d rather you didn’t kiss my face off. I’ve got a really great face. I’d like to keep it on.”

Baekhyun laughed and shoved him. “You know what I mean.”

“Maybe I don’t know what you mean. Maybe you better explain.”

Baekhyun grabbed his face and kissed him hard on the lips. Chanyeol felt like puking or dying or kissing Baekhyun until the end of time. He grabbed him and pulled him over so Baekhyun was straddling his lap. He’d only kissed one person before – some girl at a party.  It hadn’t been enjoyable, to say the least.

This was much better. His entire body felt like it was on fire, but Baekhyun’s lips were soft despite the roughness of the kiss. They were so eager, all tongues, lips, and heavy breathing.

Baekhyun pulled away after a minute, laughing breathlessly. He rested his forehead on Chanyeol’s shoulder. “Sorry… You said to explain. Do you understand now?”

“I don’t know… I might still be a little confused.”

Baekhyun laughed but looked up at him again. “It’s a good thing that explaining is so much fun.” He captured Chanyeol’s lips once again, softer this time, kissing him slowly.

“You know,” Chanyeol murmured between languid kisses. “I’m a really slow learning.”

“I know. I’ve seen you in the practice room. Ow!” Baekhyun jolted when Chanyeol nipped his bottom lip.

“Don’t make fun of me.”

“You know you’re a terrible dancer, right?”

“I’m not _that_ bad.”

“You’re like a baby giraffe trying to learn to walk.”

“That is mean.”

“Baby giraffes are kind of adorable at least.”

“I’ll let you off since you think I’m cute.”

“I think you’re more than cute, for the record.”

“You think I’m sexy?” Chanyeol wiggled his eyebrows.

“Not at the moment, but…” Baekhyun barked with laughter when Chanyeol shoved him and he nearly fell off his lap. “You’re sexiest when your mouth is shut or when it’s on mine.”

“You are so rude. I wish I’d known you were like this before I saw you.”

“You better get used to it.”

“Who says I want to? I cancel our forever romance thing.”

“I’m not an app subscription, Chanyeol. You can’t just cancel me.”

“I can cancel whatever I want. You’re cancelled.”

Baekhyun pressed his lips to Chanyeol’s neck and kissed him softly, His lips trailed to his ear where he took his earlobe between his lips. The sharp intake of breath he heard from Chanyeol made him smirk. “What about now?” he purred in his ear.

“Okay, okay. Not cancelled.”

Baekhyun nibbled at the skin beneath his ear gently and kissed his way down his jawline and back to his mouth. “You honestly have no idea how much I’ve been wanting to kiss you. I wish you’d said something. It’s been months!”

“I’m sorry. I was really terrified of my feelings. My parents always taught me that this was wrong.”

Baekhyun kissed him softly and played with his hair. “How could this be wrong?”

“I don’t know.”

“It’s not, I promise. Nothing between us is ever going to be wrong unless you hate me some day.”

“That’s not going to happen, I’m sure of it. We’ll have your forever romance.” He had no idea how he could say that with such certainty. They didn’t even know each other, but he wanted to believe in the gut feeling that he had. He wanted to believe that they’d turn their mutual attraction into a great friendship and… love.

Baekhyun nodded, catching his lips in another soft, languid kiss. He didn’t know why, but he trusted Chanyeol and he believed him. He believed that they would have that forever romance that he’d said mostly as a joke but had actually always dreamed about. He pushed closer to Chanyeol, kissing him and imagining what their forever romance could be like.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, everyone! You're all beautiful! Please leave kudos and comments if you enjoyed the fic! I love to hear from you all!! <33


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